Apple Pay For Websites Rumoured
Apple has been telling potential partners that its payment service, which lets shoppers complete a purchase on mobile apps with their fingerprint rather than by entering credit card details, is expanding to websites later this year, multiple sources told Re/code.
The service will be available to shoppers using the Safari browser on models of iPhones and iPads that possess Apple’s TouchID fingerprint technology, these people said. Apple has also considered making the service available on Apple laptops and desktops, too, though it’s not clear if the company will launch that capability.
I’m not surprised that it is looking to expand beyond NFC and in-app payments, especially given that rumours are circulating that Apple is already developing a person-to-person Apple Pay feature. Apple has clear incentives here: a strong payments ecosystem attracts developers and companies, Apple Pay improves the user experience for buying things on Apple devices, and the company earns money from every transaction.
The Re/code report floats the idea of Apple Pay checkout coming to Mac as well, for desktop websites. Apple Pay’s conveniences are lessened in the absence of a fingerprint reader for the authentication. Perhaps, this is the year MacBooks get embedded Touch ID sensors.